1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning member for removing toner, additives, paper dust, etc. and more particularly to a cleaning member suitable for a cleaning roller for removing toner deposited on a charge-imparting roller employed in a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc.
2. Background Art
Image-forming machines; for example, copying machines, printers, and complex office-automation (OA) machines having copying and printing functions, employ a cleaning blade or a cleaning roller. The cleaning roller removes toner, additives, paper dust, and other foreign matter deposited on a charge-imparting roller and a photoreceptor, through contact therewith. When the cleaning roller cannot sufficiently remove such foreign matter, members such as a charge-imparting roller and a photoreceptor are damaged, resulting in printed-image failures. Therefore, the cleaning roller is required to maintain its cleaning performance for a long period of time.
Japanese Patent No. 2847524 discloses a charge-imparting apparatus employing a cleaning member formed of sponge material, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (kokai) No. 2006-064774 discloses a toner-supplying roller including a cylindrical elastic member and a fiber layer formed of entangled melt-adhesive fiber.
In Japanese Patent No. 2847524, a hole is provided in a block of molded foam, and a core member is inserted in the hole. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2006-064774, a molded roller is covered with melt-adhesive fiber, and the fiber-coated roller is heated again by use of a mold. These processes require a number of production steps, elevating production cost. In addition, since these rollers do not successfully hold removed foreign matter, the rollers cannot be used for a prolonged period of time.